5 Different Ways to Access Recently Closed Tabs in Chrome

There’s always new updates being made to Chrome, with Google devs creating new ways to make tasks easier. In the latest Chrome update, they’ve added a new tab page, as well as a more direct way to restore recently closed tabs.

While the previous methods worked just fine, the latest method is a nice supplement to the new changes made to the New Tab page. Our guide will outline the old and new methods for restoring recently closed tabs in Chrome.

Access Recently Closed Tabs

Previous Method

Ctrl + Shift + T:

One of the most common ways to restore a recently closed tab in Chrome (and in Firefox) is to use the “Ctrl + Shift + T” keyboard combination, which brings up the most recently closed tab.

Note that this will only bring up the most recently closed tab, and it will only work in the current session. If you close Chrome completely, Ctrl + Shift + T will not bring up any previously opened tabs. For Mac users, the keyboard combination is slightly different: “Shift + Command + T.”

Ctrl + H (History):

Another keyboard combination for opening recently closed tabs is “Ctrl + H,” with the H for “History,” as in your recent browsing history. This gives a thorough day-by-day list of your browsing history, detailing which sites you’ve visited each day and at what time. To restore any of these pages, just click the title.

Reopen Closed Tab:

For a method that uses your mouse, you can right-click the space next to a currently open tab near the top of the browser. When you right-click, select “Reopen closed tab.”

When you do, your most recently closed tab will open.

Change Startup Settings:

If you hate losing all of your tabs whenever your browser unexpectedly closes, you can adjust your settings in Chrome so it will remember your tabs and restore them automatically whenever you restart Chrome. To turn this on, go to the “Main Menu” and select “Settings.”

In the “Settings” area, go to the section where it says “On startup” and click the box next to “Continue where I left off.” This setting will restore your tabs when you restart Chrome.

New Method in Version 30

In the latest version of Chrome that was released last month, a number of new features were added, including a New Tab page. Earlier, if a tab accidentally closed, you could access your recently closed tabs on the New Tab page when Chrome first loaded.

Chrome has done away with that feature, and now instead highlights your most frequently visited sites on the New Tab page.

To make up for removing this feature, Chrome has added a “Recent Tabs” feature in the “Main Menu.” To access this feature, go to the “Main menu,” in the top-right corner of Chrome and select “Recent Tabs.”

A window will appear listing the sites you’ve recently visited. Just click a site in the list to load it. A maximum of your 10 most recently visited sites will be listed here.

Note: This feature only works during a current session in Chrome. If you close and restart your browser, this feature will not recall any previously open tabs.

Conclusion

Sooner or later needs everyone needs to restore a tab in Chrome, and the latest method is a nice and tidy way to access them. While the previous methods still work, minus the startup New Tab page, the new restore tabs function is a welcome feature for accessing lost tabs.